The Eagles Offseason Plan

Following what was and should be considered a disappointing 7-9 season comes a crucial several months which could change the direction, and identity of this franchise.  All of this of course, falls on the shoulders of Philadelphia's beloved Howie Roseman.  

 Howie Roseman has preached building the team through the draft, and being patient, while supplementing the roster with cheaper, younger and under the radar free agents.  When looking at annual contenders, there's one main theme that correlates with all their rosters.  That theme is building continuity through the draft.  This is the direction I truly believe the Eagles need to go, and will go, ownership and the fans just need a little patience.  With quick expensive fixes now, the team is set up to fail financially in the near future, and if no success comes with this method then a lot of anger surfaces.  I am not saying we can't compete next year, but I don't want to see anymore big names coming in here and getting paid in front of players the Eagles have drafted. 

Cap cuts/ Free Agent losses

While Andy Reid was here, this is where he excelled. He knew when a player was on their last legs and when he could still get something for them, even though some players were emotionally harder to let go.  But this is what seperates good franchises from greats ones, and helps a young team grow.  Obvious cap cuts to me would have to be Ryan Matthews, Stephen Tulloch and Nolan Carrol, and Carrol could come back as a reserve and around 1mil/year.  The tougher veteran cuts or restructures would be Celek, Kelce, Peters and Barwin.  I'd honestly hate to see it, but cutting Celek, and then trying restructure/trade the other three make perfect sense to me. Yes they are long time Eagles, but keeping older guys around just keeps the team from moving on to where they will eventually be. Why hold off starting Big V and Seimuelo just to start guys who won't be here in 2-3 years?  At the same time this would give the Eagles room for supplementing the roster and locking down young core players such as Jordan Matthews.  A part of releasing Peters would be to get the Oline working together sooner than later in the lineup that will be the future.  I'd be okay with a Johnson, barbre/Wisniewske, Seimuelo, Brooks and Big V line-up left to right.  Another guy I would be absolutely fine with being cut is Chase Daniels.  I know he helped Wentz greatly year one, but 5 million on the cap is way too much for a backup QB. Draft another one or get a cheap veteran.  That number could help the Eagles big time.

When it comes to free agents there is really only two that matter.  Bennie Logan is the only unrestricted free agent that matters, and the Eagles should look to keep him at a decent cost.  If he wants a 9mil/year deal I think hell no to that.  I feel his real value is only in the 5.5-6.5mil/year range, and I really hope Howie sees that. I know he was drafted here, but he really is a limited two down player.  I'd be more than happy seeing him sign somewhere for 9mil/year, but with the Eagles, no way.  The other player is restricted rights free agent Trey Burton.  Now the Eagles can let the tender play out and maybe they get a late pick for him or they can match the offer of another team. I like Burton though as a small piece to the offense and I believe the Eagles should just lock him up at 3-4mil/year.

Free Agency

This is where the Eagles need to be frugal.  I believe the Eagles should be looking for about 4-7 young and cheap free agents based on how many people leave.  I don't want a big time name and starter coming in free agency.  At Wide receiver I would really like a signing such as Kenny Stills. He is 24, he has great speed and is only 24. He wouldn't command a big contract as he isn't a big time player and has never really proved to a be consistent receiver. Now he is better than what the Eagles have, and he would be a nice vertical piece in the Eagles offense. There are no running backs I'd consider the Eagles to spend big money on or even a cheap guy to bring in, the Eagles need to draft here.  At Guard there is Chance Warmack, once a high draft pick of the Tennessee Titans.  Now he wouldn't be expensive as he hasn't been a good guard, so he could come cheap on a prove it deal and he is still young. The Eagles also have his college coach Stoutland, so that could help get the best out of him.  At CB the free agent class is top heavy, and I don't think the Eagles should target them. Amukamara and Trumaine Johnson are already both 27 and wouldn't  be in their primes that long with the Eagles.  If A.J. Bouye could come in at around 7mil/year I'd take him, but he might go for a quite a lot more money somewhere else.  The Eagles must build this secondary through the draft. At defensive end there are a lot of overrated expensive guys such as JPP and Campbell, with Campbell just being too expensive.  The Eagles would be better to grab a cheap veteran end here in case Barwin leaves.  Besides getting some decent depth from free agency, I believe John Simon of the Texans might be a guy the Eagles can go after. He could fit in at middle linebacker or outside and give the Eagles some nice options with their linebacker corps. Again I wouldn't pay him more than 4.5-5.5mil/year, otherwise they're overpaying.

The Draft

This is the Eagles best chance to become annual contenders.  They've already started with a solid 2016 draft, grabbing their QB of the future and getting him some protection as well.  When this team dominated from 2000-2004,  they were a team built through the draft. Players like McNabb, Dawkins,  Westbrook, Buckhalter, Brown, Lito, Mikell, Trotter, Reese, were all drafted and grew together.  They splurged on one guy and that was Runyan, but he was THAT missing piece.  Like Greenbay signing Peppers helps their defense, Jabal Sheard and Long helped the Patriots Pass Rush.  You look at the great teams and their stars were drafted.

Now come the 2017 and 2018 drafts, the Eagles need to hit on picks big time. This is where they make it or break it. With Wentz the Eagles can always be a bottom tier playoff contender moving forward but to make it to the big game they must get big time players, and I mean at last 3 big time players in these two drafts. I'm talking Lane Johnson level from 2014.  They need to get explosive playmakers and stars in the 1st and 2nd rounds and I want to see contributors and future starters in rounds 3-5. This team needs a couple Jordan Hicks'  in the third and fourth rounds.  Next year the Eagle have three 4th round picks, those needs to be players. Gone are the days where 3rd-5th round picks are annually gone after 2-3 years.  Last year the Eagles landed their future center in the 3rd, future RT in the 5th and a piece of the secondary in the 7th. The Eagles biggest needs to me go WR, CB, RB, DE and then depth.  This year the Eagles need to invest heavily on explosive outside players on both sides of the ball. The Eagles haven't had that at least since 2014 on offense, and 2010 when Asante left.  In 2018 I really just want the Eagles to go BPA, but a bigtime pass rusher is a player the Eagles need.  For the 2017 draft though I would love to get Mike Williams or Corey Davis in the first and  CB in the second.  A RB or DE in the 3rd and 4th rounds would be ideal and hopefully they could contribute more in year 2 of their careers.

If the Eagles follow this plan, and let a roster full of guys drafted into this organization who only know the Eagles way, this team could grow to be an annually dangerous team.  Ownership and the fans must be patient. I still want the Eagles to be competitive and take steps forward in development each year, but we must understand it takes a plan, and a strong system of players and coaches to become something special.  I like the firing of Greg Lewis because that hiring didn't make sense in the first place.  Give these coaches some more pieces to work with on offense and defense and I believe we will really get to see what this system can do with solid players, just Howie Roseman and Douglas need to get that talent on this team, and quick.